Systems and methods for electronic postmarking of data including location data

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for electronic postmarking of location data are provided. Electronic postmarking of location data (S. 20 ) includes generating a hash value corresponding to merged data (S. 30 ). Electronic postmarking further includes generating an electronic postmark data structure (S. 40 ) comprising the hash value and a date/time stamp. The electronic postmarking data structure (S. 40 ) may further include a digital signature.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of application Ser. No.10/474,730, filed Oct. 14, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,779,741, which was anational entry under 35 U.S.C. §371 for PCT International ApplicationNo. PCT/US02/11380, filed Apr. 12, 2002, the disclosure of which isexpressly incorporated herein by reference, and which claims priorityfrom: U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/283,139, filed Apr. 12,2001, by Charles R. Chamberlain and titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORELECTRONIC POSTMARKING INCLUDING LOCATION DATA, the disclosure of whichis expressly incorporated herein by reference; U.S. application Ser. No.09/675,677, filed Sep. 29, 2000, by Leo J. Campbell et al. and titledSYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTHENTICATING AN ELECTRONIC MESSAGE, thedisclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference; andPCT Application Serial No. PCT/US01/47720, filed Dec. 17, 2001, byCharles R. Chamberlain and titled SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR ELECTRONICPOSTMARKING WITHOUT DIRECTLY UTILIZING AN ELECTRONIC POSTMARK SERVER,the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention, in general, relates to electronic postmarking of data.In particular, this invention relates to electronic postmarking oflocation data.

BACKGROUND

As described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/675,677, filed Sep. 29,2000, by Leo J. Campbell et al. and titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORAUTHENTICATING AN ELECTRONIC MESSAGE, the disclosure of which isexpressly incorporated herein by reference, an electronic postmark, orEPM, provides content and temporal integrity and identificationauthenticity for data, which is transferred over a network. Such EPMshave traditionally been used to authenticate the identity of the senderof a particular message or to authenticate the time/date at which themessage was created. Increasingly, however, not only the identity andtime/date of creation are important, but also the physical or geographiclocation of the sender of the message is significant.

Authenticated location or geographic information may be used for manypurposes, including, for example, being able to establish with a certaindegree of confidence the location at which a particular message or datawas created. But, as noted above, the present systems and methods do notpermit that. Accordingly, there exists a need for electronic postmarkingof location or geographic data.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods consistent with the present invention permitelectronic postmarking of location data.

In one embodiment consistent with the present invention, a method forperforming electronic postmarking of data, including user data andlocation data is provided. The method includes receiving user data froma data acquisition/generation device. The method further includesreceiving location data from a location data acquisition/generationdevice. The method further involves merging the user data with thelocation data to generate merged data. The method further comprisesgenerating an electronic postmark data structure comprising a hash valueof the merged data and a time/date stamp.

Another embodiment consistent with the present invention is a method forperforming electronic postmarking of data, including user data andlocation data. The method includes receiving user data from a dataacquisition/generation device. The method further includes receivinglocation data from a location data acquisition/generation device. Themethod further involves merging the user data with the location data togenerate merged data. The method further comprises generating anelectronic postmark data structure comprising a hash value of the mergeddata, a time/date stamp, and a digital signature.

Yet another embodiment consistent with the present invention is a systemfor performing electronic post marking of data, including user data andlocation data. The system includes means for receiving user data from adata acquisition/generation device. The system further includes meansfor receiving location data from a location data acquisition/generationdevice. The system further involves means for merging the user data withthe location data to generate merged data. The system further comprisesmeans for generating an electronic postmark data structure comprising ahash value of the merged data and a time/date stamp.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description, serve to explain the principles of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system environment consistent with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2A shows an exemplary standalone electronic postmarking (EPM)device consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 2B shows an exemplary embedded EPM device consistent with thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary block diagram of an EPM device consistent withthe invention; and

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method for performingelectronic postmarking of data, including user data and location data.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodimentsconsistent with the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Systems and methods consistent with the present invention performelectronic postmarking of data, including location data. Electronicpostmarking of location data enables one to authenticate the locationdata corresponding to a user data. For example, using the location dataone may be able to determine the location where a particular image wascaptured, using for example, a digital camera. As used herein, the term“location data” includes, but is not limited to, data concerning thegeographic location, GPS coordinates, position, altitude, longitude,latitude, or the direction of a data acquisition/generation device, suchas a digital camera.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system environment consistent with the presentinvention. A sender 102 (also referred to as a user), who has a dataacquisition/generation device capable of acquiring or generating data,may send a message along with the acquired/generated data to anelectronic postmarking system (EPM system) 104. As used herein, the term“data acquisition/generation device” includes, but is not limited to, adigital camera, a digital video recorder, a personal digital assistant,a handheld computer, a laptop computer, or any other device capable ofacquiring, generating, and/or storing electronic data. EPM system 104,as discussed later, may generate an EPM using a regular EPM server, asdescribed in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/675,677, filed Sep. 29, 2000,by Leo J. Campbell et al. and titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORAUTHENTICATING AN ELECTRONIC MESSAGE. The EPM system may also generatean EPM using a MicroEPM device, as described in, PCT Application SerialNo. PCT/US01/47720, filed Dec. 17, 2001, by Charles R. Chamberlain andtitled SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR ELECTRONIC POSTMARKING WITHOUT DIRECTLYUTILIZING AN ELECTRONIC POSTMARK SERVER, the disclosure of which isexpressly incorporated herein by reference. As used herein, the term“embedded electronic postmarking device” is used to refer to theMicroEPM device of the previously mentioned patent application.Accordingly, in one embodiment consistent with the present invention, anEPM device, such as a MicroEPM device, may be embedded in a dataacquisition/generation device.

As shown in FIG. 1, sender 102 may send data, including location data,via a network 105, such as the Internet, to EPM system 104. The EPMsystem may then send the data to receiver 106, via a network, such asthe Internet.

FIG. 2A shows an exemplary standalone electronic postmarking (EPM)device consistent with the present invention. A user 202 may operate adata acquisition/generation device 204 to generate data. As discussedabove, data acquisition/generation device 204 can be any electronicdevice that is capable of generating, acquiring, and/or storingelectronic data. Data acquisition/generation device 204 may transfer theacquired/generated user data to an external EPM device 206 through aninterface 207. Data acquisition/generation device 204 may furtherinclude a location data sensor, such as a GPS sensor. Using the locationdata sensor (not shown), data acquisition/generation device 204 maygenerate data corresponding to the position, altitude, longitude,latitude, or the direction of a data acquisition/generation device, suchas a digital camera.

In one embodiment, data acquisition/generation device may merge the userdata and the location data to create merged data, which may then betransferred via an interface connecting data acquisition/generationdevice 204 and EPM device 206.

The interface connecting data acquisition/generation device 204 and EPMdevice 206 may be any interface that is capable of transferringinformation, including an electronic, optical or a combination thereof.In particular, the interface may be a network, such as the Internet, alocal area network (wired or wireless). The interface could also be anyof the interfaces used to connect electronic devices, for example, aserial or a parallel interface for connecting I/O devices to a computer,a Uniform Serial Bus, IEEE-1394, Bluetooth, or any other interface.

At the user's command, the merged data is sent from dataacquisition/generation device 204 to EPM device 206. In one embodimentEPM device 206 may generate an electronic postmarking structure for themerged data and store the electronic postmarking structure locally. Thestored electronic postmarking structure may then be transferred to EPMserver 208. Alternatively, EPM device 206 may continue storing locallythe electronic postmarking structures, which may be later transferred ina batch to EPM server 208.

FIG. 2B shows an exemplary embedded EPM device 215 consistent with thepresent invention. According to this embodiment an EPM device 215 may beembedded or physically incorporated into a data acquisition/generationdevice 214. As above, data acquisition/generation device 214 can be anyelectronic device that is capable of generating, acquiring, and/orstoring electronic data. User data and location data may be transferredwithin the data acquisition/generation device to embedded EPM device 215upon a user command or it may be transferred automatically. Dataacquisition/generation device 214 may connect to an EPM server 216 forthe generation of a batch EPM of the stored electronic postmarks.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary block diagram of an EPM device 300 consistentwith the invention. The exemplary EPM device may include a postmarkstorage unit 306, a secure EPM interface 308, a postmark generation unit310, a device interface 312, a real-time clock 314, a date generator316, and a location data generator 318. Using real time data fromreal-time clock 314, user data and/or location data 304, a private key,and/or location data from location data generator 318, a postmarkgeneration unit 310 creates an electronic postmark data structure.Postmark generation unit may be a software module executing on ageneral-purpose microprocessor or an application specific integratedcircuit (“ASIC”). The generated electronic postmark data structure maybe stored in postmark storage unit 306. Postmark storage unit 306 may beRAM, a flash memory, a hard drive, or any other appropriate type ofelectronic or optical storage.

A plurality of electronic postmark data structures may be stored in thepostmark storage unit for transfer in a single batch later. At theuser's command, either a single electronic postmark data structure or aplurality of electronic postmark data structures may be transferred toEPM server 302 via secure EPM interface 308. Data, including user dataand/or location data may arrive via device interface 312. A keyinterface (not shown) may accept a private key from an official source,such as the United States Postal Service (USPS), or any other trustedsource of private keys (as described in the aforementioned U.S.application Ser. No. 09/675,677, filed Sep. 29, 2000).

Location data generator 318 may comprise at least one of a geo-positionsensor, an altitude sensor, and a directional sensor. The geo-positionsensor may generate longitude and/or latitude information. The altitudesensor may acquire information concerning the altitude of the dataacquisition/generation device at the time data, such as a digitalpicture was acquired. The directional sensor may, for example, provideinformation concerning the direction in which the dataacquisition/generation device, is pointing at the time user data, suchas a digital image from a digital camera, was generated.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method for performingelectronic postmarking of data, including user data and location data.In stage S.10, user data, including, for example, user acquired and/oruser generated data, is received by an EPM device, such as the EPMdevice of FIG. 3. User data may either be acquired or generated locallyor it may be received via device interface 312 of FIG. 3.

In stage S.20, location data, including, for example, geo-positioncoordinates of the data acquisition/generation device, is received bythe EPM device. Location data may be received via device interface 312of FIG. 3 or may be locally generated using location data generator 318of FIG. 3.

In stage S.30, user data is merged with the location data to createmerged data. A software module (which is not shown in FIG. 3) loaded inthe memory (not shown) associated with the EPM device may perform thisfunction. Alternatively, merging of the data may also be performed bythe data acquisition/generation device.

In stage S.40, an electronic postmark data structure is generated. Aspart of this stage, several sub-stages may occur. In one embodiment, themerged data obtained from the previous stage is hashed using, forexample, a one-way hash function. As part of this sub-stage, any knownor later developed hash function may be used. In one embodiment, a hashfunction, which produces a 64-bit key may be used. The hash may then betime/date stamped. Time may be obtained using real-time clock 314 ofFIG. 3. Date may be obtained using date generator 316 of FIG. 3.Alternatively a time/date stamp may be obtained from a trusted externalsource.

In one embodiment, the electronic postmark data structure may begenerated comprising the hash value of the merged data and the time/datestamp. Alternatively, the electronic postmark data structure may begenerated comprising the hash value of the merged data, the time/datestamp, and a digital signature comprising, for example, a private key. Adigital signature may be produced by first performing a secure hashalgorithm by using, for example, the Secure Hash Standard FIPS 180-1 onthe data to be signed, to produce a secure hash value. The secure hashvalue may then be processed using a digital signature algorithm (DSA)and a unique private key to produce two data values. These data valuesmay comprise the digital signature, which may then be appended to thehash value and the time/date stamp to form an electronic postmark datastructure.

In one embodiment after an electronic postmark data structure isgenerated, as discussed above, the generated electronic postmark datastructure may be stored in a log. Alternatively, a data entrycorresponding to the generated electronic postmark data structure may bestored in the log. The log may be located at EPM server 110 of FIG. 3.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic postmarking device for generatingan electronic postmark, including sender data and sender location data,the device comprising: a date/time unit for generating a time/datestamp; a location data generator comprising a location sensor forgenerating sender location data; an interface for receiving sender dataincluding electronic data and performing a batch transfer of a pluralityof electronic postmark data to a server; a postmark generation unit formerging the electronic data of the sender data with the sender locationdata to generate merged data and for generating at least one of theelectronic postmark data from the merged data; and a storage unit forstoring the plurality of electronic postmark data.
 2. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the electronic postmark data comprises a hash valuefrom the merged data and the time/date stamp.
 3. The device of claim 2,wherein the interface receives a private key and the electronic postmarkdata further comprises a digital signature.
 4. The device of claim 1,wherein the sender location data comprises at least one of position,altitude, longitude, latitude, and direction.
 5. The device of claim 1,wherein the location data sensor is at least one of a GPS sensor, analtitude sensor, a position sensor, a latitude sensor, a longitudesensor, and a direction sensor.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein thesender data comprises a message.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein theelectronic postmarking device is embedded in the dataacquisition/generation device.
 8. An electronic postmarking device forgenerating an electronic postmark, including sender data and senderlocation data, the device comprising: a date/time unit for generating atime/date stamp; an interface for receiving sender data and senderlocation data from a data acquisition device and performing a batchtransfer of a plurality of electronic postmark data to a server, thesender data including electronic data; a postmark generation unit formerging the electronic data of the sender data with the sender locationdata to generate merged data and for generating at least one of theelectronic postmark data from the merged data; and a storage unit forstoring the plurality of electronic postmark data.
 9. The device ofclaim 8, wherein the electronic postmark data comprises a hash valuefrom the merged data and the time/date stamp.
 10. The device of claim 9,wherein the interface receives a private key and the electronic postmarkdata further comprises a digital signature.
 11. The device of claim 8,wherein the sender location data comprises at least one of position,altitude, longitude, latitude, and direction.
 12. The device of claim 8,wherein the location data sensor is at least one of a GPS sensor, analtitude sensor, a position sensor, a latitude sensor, a longitudesensor, and a direction sensor.
 13. The device of claim 8, wherein thesender data comprises a message.
 14. The device of claim 8, wherein theelectronic postmarking device is embedded in the dataacquisition/generation device.
 15. An electronic postmarking device forgenerating an electronic postmark, including sender data and senderlocation data, the device comprising: a date/time unit for generating atime/date stamp; an interface for receiving, from a data acquisitiondevice, merged data comprising sender data and sender location data andperforming a batch transfer of a plurality of electronic postmark datato a server, the sender data including electronic data; a postmarkgeneration unit for generating at least one of the electronic postmarkdata from the merged data and the time/date stamp; and a storage unitfor storing the plurality of electronic postmark data.
 16. The device ofclaim 15, wherein the sender data comprises a message.
 17. The device ofclaim 15, wherein the electronic postmarking device is embedded in thedata acquisition/generation device.